STX209 (arbaclofen) for autism spectrum disorders: an 8-week open-label study.

Doctors gave kids with autism a pill called STX209 every day for eight weeks. Parents and clinicians filled out rating scales about irritability and social withdrawal before and after. No placebo group was used.

Both parents and clinicians reported less irritability and fewer social withdrawal behaviors at week eight. The drug was generally well tolerated with no major safety red flags.

Capio et al. (2013) ran a similar-length study but added a placebo arm and found large irritability drops only with higher-dose risperidone. Their controlled design shows the open-label gains seen here might shrink under placebo testing.

Rezaei et al. (2018) combined risperidone with PRT and saw medium aberrant-behavior drops, hinting that pairing meds with ABA could beat meds alone. That team’s work suggests future STX209 trials may want to add behavioral treatment.

Hadjikhani et al. (2015) also used an open-label pill design and saw social gains with bumetanide. Both pilots flag the same next step: run randomized, placebo-controlled studies before clinical use.

The pill eased irritability quickly, something families often request. Yet without a placebo group you cannot tell if the gains came from the drug or from extra attention. Share these hopeful but early data with prescribers, keep measuring behavior on your own scales, and stay ready to fold STX209 into a combined plan if later RCTs confirm benefit.